when i'm with you, i just am
by princ3ssf33t
Summary: Elle had successfully exonerated her client in one of the biggest cases of new century. Her name is in the news nearly every day, and while she may not want it to be, it was going to be in the news for a little while longer. Because she still had another fish to fry, and come what may, she wasn't about to let this one go.


Elle clutched Emmett's hand as she stared resolutely ahead of her. The only thing on the wall in front of her was a poster explaining the symptoms of diabetes, and Elle had reread the same four lines of symptoms over and over again for the last twenty minutes as they waited in the lobby.

A door opened near the nurses' station and Elle's eyes darted over to quickly to see an older woman call a name that wasn't hers. A young man clutching a bucket stood from his chair and followed the graying woman out of the lobby. The door shut behind them with a final click, and Elle flinched at the impersonal sound.

Emmett squeezed her hand. Elle blinked a few times, clearing away the mist that was settling over her brain, and looked up at Emmett seated next to her. His hair was still slicked from the trial despite him exchanging the suit jacket and tie for a sweatshirt. His mouth twitched up in an attempt to give her a reassuring smile, but the way his eyebrows were still creased, and how his eyes didn't hold the same hell-driven fire behind them ruined the effect.

She opened her mouth to thank him for being there despite not having to be, when he beat her too it.

"Don't. You and I both know that I wouldn't think of being anywhere else. Not when you need me here."

Elle's mouth shut quickly. He was right. There was no place she would rather he be at that moment; even if she hadn't expressed it out loud in so many words. Elle guessed it was due to the fact they were best friends and mastered the communication of knowing what the other needed before they knew themselves. He was able to see what had been holding herself back in her studies, and she could always tell when he needed time to simply unwind. They were a team, partners, and Elle needed her partner if she was going to face this.

It wasn't her idea. It had nearly been a full day since _it_ happened, and Elle was ready to forget about it and move on. She had just won one of the highest profile cases of this century and her name would be printed in the newspapers for weeks to come in relation to the trial. Her, a first-year law student from UCLA winning her trial with the basic facts of perm maintenance. She didn't want to have _this_ associated with her name for the next few months.

But Emmett hinted at something, something Elle hoped and prayed wasn't true, but for the small possibility that it could, was why she was sitting here, in a hospital lobby, waiting to be examined and to see if there was anything they could use to prevent _him_ from doing this again.

Elle nodded at Emmett and she rested her head against his shoulder. His thumb ran in small circles on the back of her hand. It was a small movement, but Elle couldn't help but feel herself calm at the light touch.

The door near the nurses' station opened once again and a thin woman with pink scrubs stood there with a clipboard. There was a beat and then she spoke.

"Woods. Elle Woods."

This was it. Her next big step of faith. One that took more guts than following a guy to one of the most exclusive law schools in the country. One that had the potential to ruin any law career she may have before it even began.

Whatever may happen would happen. She was going to fight until she there was nothing left to fight for.

Elle stood up.

* * *

Emmett was being shot looks wherever he went as he gathered the few things he had brought to work. A picture of his mom and him on the day that he graduated Harvard, both with some of the dumbest grins on their faces that Emmett had ever seen, and a potted plant that only seemed to continue to die no matter what he attempted to do to revive it. A coffee mug and a few pens that didn't belong to him, but were too good to be used by such an ass as Callahan rested in the box as well.

He let them roll off his back. What did their stares matter to him in any case? They allowed themselves to be bulldozed over and remade in the image of a man that only looked human.

His walked out of that office under his own power with his back straight and proud. He could hear in the back of his head voices that sounded like old friends telling him that he was throwing away his shot at being one of the biggest name lawyers in all of Boston.

Emmett dropped his box of personal items on the passenger side of his car and he looked back at the cold and impersonal building that had once inspired him. A satisfied smile spread across his face. If he succeeded in what he was planning, there wouldn't be a single person in the whole Boston metro area that wouldn't know his name.

* * *

Elle walked out of the police station with a lightness in her step that she hadn't had since the day she took Emmett to the department store and bought him a suit. The sun was shining down on her, a break in the steady clouds and drizzly weather that had taken over following the trial.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the sun's rays. She was doing the right thing. She could feel it in her bones as much as she could feel the sun on her face right then.

"Elle! Honey, over here!" Paulette shouted.

Elle opened her eyes and looked down the steps where her friend was waving frantically from her car. Kyle was seated next to her and Vivian was tucked in the backseat between Rufus and Bruiser, looking a little uncomfortable as Rufus' drool escaped his jowls to land on her lap. Elle smiled at the sight in front of her. It was almost perfect.

Walking down the rest of the steps, Elle settled into the back seat and Bruiser jumped up onto her lap before circling once and laying down. His little tail thumped happily against her hip.

Vivian reached across the seat and rested her hand on Elle's shoulder.

"We're all really proud of what you did here. And we want you to know that we will stand beside you until the end," she said.

"Yeah. Just you wait, we're gonna nail the bastard," Paulette said with her patented smile, before she applied her lead foot to the gas and peeled out of the parking spot she was in.

Elle rested one hand on the side of the car to steady herself. She was appreciative of Paulette's enthusiasm, really, she was, but at this point there wasn't much more evidence than her word as the exam only brought up bruises that would be attempted to construed as something they weren't. Elle ran her hand across the lower half of her face where her makeup concealed the reality.

Vivian's hand squeezed her shoulder.

"Don't you worry. Emmett is hot on the trail to find others. He won't let you down. Has he ever before?"

Elle couldn't stop her smile. No, Emmett had never let her down before. And she was sure he wasn't going to start now.

* * *

He couldn't afford to let Elle down now. She was depending on him to track down the others, those in previous years, those whom he had gone to school with, those who may not have had the courage to take the steps to take down the shark on their own.

Hanging up the phone, Emmett scrubbed his face and resisted the urge to slam his head down on the desk he was working from. That was the fourth call he had made that day to see if there was any merit to the rumors he had heard whispered through the halls of Harvard when he was a student navigating them. And for the fourth time that day, he was denied any information and told to take a hike.

Emmett reached and raised his coffee mug to his lips, before he realized that the mug was only filled with a swig of cold coffee. Taking a breath, Emmett swallowed it before standing up to refill it with the remaining coffee in his kitchen's coffeepot. Perhaps a new cup could give him some new angle to tackle what he was facing.

The floor was cold through his socks, and Emmett ignored the noise his television was making as he walked past it to the coffeepot. There was enough coffee in the pot for one more cup, which Emmett gladly poured. He was leaning against the counter inhaling the scent of his favorite brew when a few stray words from the television broke through.

"—Sexual allegations against esteemed Harvard professor and defense attorney, Richard Callahan. While no information regarding the identities of the woman making the allegations have been released, this is a story that we will be following closely as it develops."

Emmett was stunned. His coffee mug dropped from its spot near his face to the counter behind him.

She had done it. She had really done it.

Not that he doubted that she would do it. Emmett knew Elle well enough at this point to know that she wouldn't allow something like what Callahan had done to be swept under the rug. She had got into Harvard law and aced her courses on spite alone to prove that she was serious and deserving to be there, despite her silly reason for travelling across country in the first place.

Emmett just didn't think it would be so soon.

He stared at the television screen blankly as reporters switched topics to the ongoing construction downtown. A part of him almost wished that he could have been there to see the look on her face as she marched in there and revealed to the whole world what a creep Callahan really was.

A sharp ringing pierced the fog of Emmett's brain and he dropped his mug on the counter as he raced to answer his cell phone. His fingers fumbled with opening the cheap flip phone for a moment, and when he answered the phone he was a little out of breath.

"Emmett Forrest, how may I be of assistance for you today?" He hadn't even bothered to look at who it was that was calling him.

"Emmett, what's up? You sound like you just ran a marathon." Elle's sweet voice rang through his ears.

Emmett took a deep breath before answering.

"Well, you know, my phone was on the other side of the apartment as usual. Sorry."

Elle sighed. When she spoke, it was with a light teasing manner that Emmett knew was still completely serious. "I'm going to have to buy you a clip for you to keep your phone on you at all times, aren't I? A licensed attorney should have a way for his clients to contact him should there be an emergency at any time."

"Yes, but one needs clients for that to happen," Emmett answered back.

Elle grew quiet on the other end of the line for a few moments. He could hear her breathing as she attempted to work up to whatever it was that she wanted to say. He could visualize the way her face must have been twisting and how she would be biting the corner of her lip.

"You saw the news, yes?" She finally asked.

Emmett nodded as he answered the affirmative. "Hopefully there are others willing to come forward and once they get word that they haven't been the only ones. Having other's testimony would really strengthen our case."

Emmett paused a moment.

"I'm really proud of you Elle. It takes a lot of strength to do as you're doing right now."

If Emmett were on the other end of the phone with Elle, he knew he would see her face relax and how she would light up at his words. He had seen it enough times.

"I know they will. Just you wait Emmett."

* * *

And come forward they did. It was only a few days before Emmett was receiving calls of other students, graduated or not, giving him their firsthand accounts of what they experienced at the hands of the Harvard professor.

They were going to nail the guy.

* * *

She brings up the question after the third morning they eat breakfast together after she spends the night Emmett's small apartment. Their barely into their first cup of coffee when Elle breaks the comfortable silence.

"We should look into having another attorney handling this case."

Emmett pauses before he lowered his coffee down to the table again. His eyebrow quirks up and his mouth twitches, but he waits for her to elaborate her point.

"I don't mean to say that I don't trust your legal instincts, you know I do." She reaches out and rests her hand on top of Emmett's. Her thumb runs circles over his skin. "I'm just thinking that because now we're dating, there should be someone else heading this case. Because you and I both know that you stand up there, they are going to tear into you and try to ruin your character and career before you can really get started. That this is all a personal vendetta to get back at _him_."

It was a rule in Emmett's apartment. That name was never to be mentioned aloud.

"And I know that you're more than capable of handling anything they can throw at yourself. But you've worked so hard that I don't want it to all be thrown away because of me."

Elle couldn't keep her face on Emmett's. She didn't want to see the look of disappointment on his face as he process her words. Her face ducked down and she stared at a deep scratch in Emmett's table.

Then a hand reached out and grabbed Elle's chin gently. She found her head was gently lead back to look at Emmett. He had stood up from his chair and was leaning slightly over the table to face Elle. And despite what Elle was expecting, Emmett's face held nothing but love and affection for her. His smile was reassuring with the turmoil inside her.

"If throwing away my law career is what it would take to ensure you get the justice you and the others deserve from a prick like him, then I will serve it on a silver platter."

Elle couldn't help but laugh at Emmett.

"Emmett, you don't have a silver platter."

The smile that broke across Emmett's face was Elle's favorite. Wide and expressive, it lit up the entire room. She knew that he held no hard feelings for her suggestion. It was plain to see on his face. He leaned a little but further over the table and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"You really are worth so much more than you give yourself credit for. And ahead in the game. Here I was, attempting to figure out a way for me to suggest handing over the case to another lawyer without seeming like I wanted nothing to do with it, when you just come in and speak your mind. You really are something little miss Woods comma Elle."

Elle smiled up at Emmett. Her heart settled back in her chest once again beating at its normal pace. He wasn't upset with her. He was thinking the same thing but was worried how _she_ would take it.

Emmett was nothing like any other relationship she'd had in her life.

"And I think I already have someone lined up. She would be the perfect choice for us; she has experience and the skill to go toe to toe with some of the hardest of asses in the field." Emmett paused for a moment. "I think you'd like her."

Elle thought about it. There was no denying that they would have to hand this whole thing off. Not now that Elle was seeing Emmett. A twitch of a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. That was nice. To say that she was seeing Emmett. It just felt right. Everything about being with Emmett felt right. Even when they had stumbled through their first kiss that evolved into—

Shaking off her thoughts that had drifted back to the previous few nights, Elle forced herself to think of the matter at hand. This wasn't the time to get distracted, not when the opportunity stood at hand that may ruin so many people's lives. Hers included.

Elle reached out and rested her hand against Emmett's cheek. He hadn't shaved for a couple days and she could feel the stubble beneath her palm. It reminded her of how hard he had been working, that small hygiene things like shaving slipped his mind. That had been something Warner had never done. He had always made sure to wake up and shave as a part of his morning routine that he never been able to break out of.

Elle leaned forward and kissed Emmett on the lips. Her forehead tilted until it was touching his. Her eyes slid shut as she reveled in the closeness between the two of them.

"Would you be willing to give this woman a call? I want to meet the person who's gonna nail the bastard."

Elle didn't need to open her eyes to know that Emmett's perfect wide smile would be splitting his face once again.

* * *

Emmett was right. Elle did like this woman.

Charlie-Rose Mahaney was unafraid to be different from anyone. Barely reaching the five-foot mark, she carried herself like she was a giant among men. Her black suit and the skulls that decorated the hairbow that pulled her hair back announced to the world that she took no shit from anyone.

Elle liked her.

"And what does that dickwad do? Throws his beer on the ground and storms out of there, leaving the rest of us to clean up the shattered glass and alcohol on the floor. That was the last time we invited my cousin over for the Superbowl."

Elle laughed that the end of her lawyer's tale. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, especially Emmett, but she had been a little apprehensive about meeting the woman who would be taking over the case. A Harvard law graduate prior to Callahan's arrival as a professor, there was no personal connection between the two other than when the two of them opposed each other periodically on the court where they were pretty evenly matched.

Charlie-Rose took a large drink of her coffee and opened the file before her. When she set down her cup, she was all business. Her pen clicked and the tip was poised to write on the notepad in front of her.

"Alright, tell me when this all began."

Elle took a deep breath, gripped her coffee cup tighter and began from the beginning.

* * *

Emmett wasn't surprised that Elle was wearing pink on the day she was being called in for her testimony. Although he was surprised at the shade she had chosen; instead of her bright and vibrant pink that would stand out in the Barbie aisle at a local toy store, she was wearing a pink that was a little more muted, a little more subdued. It had prompted Emmett to ask to make sure everything was still alright with Elle as they drove to the courthouse.

She had been quick to assure him that everything was fine and she was just anxious for the day and this whole ordeal to be over with. She had postponed returning to California for her short summer break before school came back in to be sure that Callahan received his due.

Emmett had dropped her off with a quick kiss on her lips and parked a few blocks away at the parking garage before walking into the courtroom seconds before they started. He sat down in the back, not wanting to call any attention to himself as the judge called for the proceedings to begin.

Callahan was in charge of defending himself. His arrogant ass wouldn't take into consideration the idea that there may be someone a little more removed from the case that may be better suited, less personally involved.

Emmett didn't really care one way or the other. As long as that prick was on the other side of the division and Emmett on this side, there was no chance of Emmett's fist making an unexpected, but completely deserved, landing on the man's face.

That urge grew with each testimony of the other brave women that made their way to the stand and faced their past as it stood before them. Emmett's knuckles were positively white by the time Elle sat down and faced Callahan for the first time since Brooke's trial.

"Recount to the court, what happened exactly on the evening of the March the fourteenth," Charlie-Rose said. Her skull bow had been replaced with a skeleton necklace.

Elle let out the small breath she was holding inside and recounted the day as it had gone down. How they managed to get the pool boy to admit his falsehood about sleeping with Brooke and come out of the closet. How they had all gone back to the office to celebrate the breaking of such a large part of the prosecution's case, and when they were all dismissed for the night, Elle was requested to stay. Elle told of how they talked for a few minutes before Callahan had lunged and forced himself upon her, before she could break free.

Her testimony done, Callahan took his steps to ask his own questions.

His questions were brief and to the point. And Elle held her own, not allowing him to steer her answers to the picture he wanted to paint. Emmett couldn't help but smile at her steel resolve. She would really be an excellent lawyer.

"One last question for you Miss Woods. When was it that you started sleeping with my teacher's assistant?"

"Objection!" Charlie-Rose was on her feet in an instant. "Where is the relevance?"

The judge nodded. He turned to Elle, "You don't have to answer that."

Elle held up a hand and looked directly at the judge.

"I appreciate that, but I would like to answer the professor's question."

The judge stared at Elle for a moment, but finally nodded and gestured for her to continue. Elle smiled brilliantly at him before she turned to face Callahan directly and her face grew into the coldest Emmett had almost seen it.

"Despite what you may think, _Professor,_ "—that was closest Emmett had ever seen her to a snarl— "the first time I slept with my _boyfriend_ was only a few weeks ago. Well after the school year ended. And certainly, after the time he was the teaching assistant for the class that I was a part of. Now if you would kindly stay out of the matters of my bedroom, since you have never been, or ever be, privy to anything of the sort from me."

Emmett's hand relaxed and he leaned against the backrest. His cheek twitched.

* * *

Elle was riding a high. A high that was similar to the one when she helped Paulette get her dog and when she cleared Brooke's name of murder.

Although the alcohol could have something a little bit to do with it.

"Three cheers to Elle! For nailing the bastard where the sun don't shine!" Paulette shouted, raising her pint of beer high above her head.

There were cheers echoing from around the small bar all praising the efforts of the blonde woman. Elle smiled politely and shuffled some of the cheers to Charlie-Rose and the other women whom she wouldn't have been able to do this without. The crowd was very generous and gave extra cheers for those women.

Swallowing the rest of the beer that rested on the bottom of her glass, Elle set it down and walked off in search of her boyfriend.

The word felt right on her tongue, but she wasn't sure how Emmett would take it. They hadn't really given much time to discuss where exactly their relationship was going. Their time had been taken up by this suit and other work. And when they did get time off to be near each other, they rather spent it doing other things they had kept repressed for longer they would like to have admitted.

"Brooke," Elle tapped the shoulder of her fellow blonde. "Have you seen Emmett? I haven't seen him since court this afternoon. I thought he was giving you a ride here?"

Brooke smiled with ease.

"He did dear. I think he's hanging around the jukebox drinking a juice box. I think he mentioned something about being a designated driver for the evening." Brooke waved her hand as if it was something silly.

"Thank you, Brooke."

Weaving her way through the throng of people, Elle made her way to the jukebox. She caught a glimpse of the ratty sweatshirt that she had grown used to seeing around the apartment early in the morning. Elle ducked under someone's arm and latched onto Emmett's chest.

"Hello sweetheart," she cooed. Internally there was a part of her that winced at the use of the endearment, but she had a little too much alcohol to make herself do anything about it.

Emmett's hand dropped and wrapped around her shoulders, but he made no comment in greeting to her. His attention was taken by the phone in his hand and the individual he was talking to on the other end of the line. Elle cocked her head and tried to hear whatever was being said on the other end.

"No, absolutely. It would be an honor. –I would happy to be there at eight on Monday morning. –Thank you so much sir. Have a good night." He flipped the phone shut and looked down at the blonde he had clutched to his chest.

"How are you doing beautiful?" He asked with her favorite smile.

"What was that phone call about? It sounded important. Did something good happen?" Elle used his sweatshirt to pull her face closer to his.

"Ask me again on Monday. Now tell me, how does it feel to triumph over one of the biggest names in law in the past few decades? How does it feel to be vindicated?"

Elle shook her head.

"This wasn't for me. It was for them," Elle turned and gestured to the four other women who had volunteered to come forward with her. "And it was for those women in the future who now don't have to worry about that perv attempting to get into their pants."

Emmett squeezed Elle and kissed the top of her head. A soft sound escaped the back of Elle's throat and she snuggled deeper into the sweatshirt, drinking in the scent that was entirely Emmett. She was content to stay there for the rest of the evening and let the other's party without her. Something that during her years at UCLA she wouldn't have even considered.

"I'm so proud of you. You did so well today," Emmett said. "Although my favorite part was when you called me your boyfriend."

Elle jerked her head sharply up and looked at him. She found no deception there, only a joyous acceptance.

"Good. I don't plan on changing calling you that for a good long time. Now tell me what the phone call was about."

Emmett sighed. "A job. It looks like I have an employment opportunity open for me. Nothing set for certain though."

"Anyone looking to hire you would be lucky. You're one of the best in your field and just an all-around great guy. You're brilliant and you know what it takes to stand your ground when you know you're in the right. That's one of the things I love about you."

Elle could hear the heart beating in Emmett's chest pick up a little in its pace. She smiled before she opened her mouth again.

"I love you, you butthead."

Emmett laughed and pulled her head up from where it was resting on his chest. He looked into her bright blue eyes for a moment before he leaned down and kissed her. Elle kissed back with more enthusiasm and pulled herself up to be more on the same level with him.

Distinctly, Elle could hear some cat-calls and wolf-whistles from the party behind them, but she ignored them. She ignored everything that wasn't the gorgeous man she was currently kissing with drunken abandon.

They had won. Callahan was dismissed from his post as a professor due to the media circus and pressure from the public, although _he_ would insist that he left of his own admission, and there were so many women now without a weight on their shoulders they had carried in silence. Emmett was looking to start a new mystery job and she was ready for whatever challenges she would be facing.

But that would come when it would. For now, she was content.

* * *

 **A/N: This was born from two things, 1. my sudden and recent obsession with the Legally Blonde musical, and 2. my desire to know what happened with Callahan after the trial. The musical gave a little bit more of a follow-up, but I still wanted to know. So my brain had me write this. I apologize if there's any errors or if anyone's not in character, I really didn't do much in ways of editing.**


End file.
